Judges 19
1 And it comes to pass in those days, when there is no king in Israel, that there is a man, a Levite, a sojourner in the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he takes a wife for himself, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah;
And there was a Levite sojourning in the sides of mount Ephraim, and he took to himself a concubine from Bethleem Juda.
2 and his concubine commits whoredom against him, and she goes from him to the house of her father, to Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there four months of days.
And his concubine departed from him, and went away from him to the house of her father to Bethleem Juda, and she was there four months.
3 And her husband rises and goes after her, to speak to her heart, to bring her back, and his young man [is] with him, and a couple of donkeys; and she brings him into the house of her father, and the father of the young woman sees him, and rejoices to meet him.
And her husband rose up, and went after her to speak kindly to her, to recover her to himself; and he had his young man with him, and a pair of asses; and she brought him into the house of her father; and the father of the damsel saw him, and was well pleased to meet him.
4 And his father-in-law keeps hold on him, father of the young woman, and he abides with him three days, and they eat and drink, and lodge there.
And his father-in-law, the father of the damsel, constrained him, and he stayed with him for three days; and they ate and drank, and lodged there.
5 And it comes to pass, on the fourth day, that they rise early in the morning, and he rises to go, and the father of the young woman says to his son-in-law, “Support your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you go on.”
And it came to pass on the fourth day that they rose early, and he stood up to depart; and the father of the damsel said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterwards you shall go.
6 And both of them sit, and eat and drink together, and the father of the young woman says to the man, “Please be willing and lodge all night, and let your heart be glad.”
So they two sat down together and ate and drank: and the father of the damsel said to her husband, Tarry now the night, and let your heart be merry.
7 And the man rises to go, and his father-in-law presses on him, and he turns back and lodges there.
And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law constrained him, and he stayed and lodged there.
8 And he rises early in the morning, on the fifth day, to go, and the father of the young woman says, “Please support your heart”; and they have tarried until the turning of the day, and both of them eat.
And he rose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the father of the damsel said, Strengthen now your heart, and quit yourself as a soldier till the day decline; and the two ate.
9 And the man rises to go, he, and his concubine, and his young man, but his father-in-law, father of the young woman, says to him, “Now behold, the day has fallen toward evening, please lodge all night; behold, the declining of the day! Lodge here and let your heart be glad—and you have risen early tomorrow for your journey, and you have gone to your tent.”
And the man rose up to depart, he and his concubine, and his young man; but his father-in-law the father of the damsel said to him, Behold now, the day has declined towards evening; lodge here, an let your heart rejoice; and you shall rise early to-morrow for your journey, and you shall go to your habitation.
10 And the man has not been willing to lodge all night, and he rises, and goes, and comes in until [he is] opposite Jebus (it [is] Jerusalem), and a couple of saddled donkeys [are] with him; and his concubine [is] with him.
But the man would not lodge there, but he arose and departed, and came to the part opposite Jebus, (this is Jerusalem, ) and [there was] with him a pair of asses saddled, and his concubine [was] with him.
11 They [are] near Jebus, and the day has greatly gone down, and the young man says to his lord, “Please come, and we turn aside to this city of the Jebusite and lodge in it.”
And they came as far as Jebus: and the day had far advanced, and the young man said to his master, Come, I pray you, and let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and let us lodge in it.
12 And his lord says to him, “Let us not turn aside to the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel there, but we have passed over to Gibeah.”
And his master said to him, We will not turn aside to a strange city, where there is not one of the children of Israel, but we will pass on as far as Gabaa.
13 And he says to his young man, “Come, and we draw near to one of the places, and have lodged in Gibeah, or in Ramah.”
And he said to his young man, Come, and let us draw near to one of the places, and we will lodge in Gabaa or in Rama.
14 And they pass over, and go on, and the sun goes in on them near Gibeah, which is of Benjamin;
And they passed by and went on, and the sun went down upon them near to Gabaa, which is in Benjamin.
15 and they turn aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah, and he goes in and sits in a broad place of the city, and there is no man gathering them into the house to lodge.
And they turned aside thence to go in to lodge in Gabaa; and they went in, and sat down in the street of the city, and there was no one who conducted them into a house to lodge.
16 And behold, an old man has come from his work from the field in the evening, and the man [is] of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he [is] a sojourner in Gibeah, and the men of the place [are] Benjamites.
And behold, an old man came out of the field from his work in the evening; and the man was of mount Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gabaa, and the men of the place [were] sons of Benjamin.
17 And he lifts up his eyes, and sees the man, the traveler, in a broad place of the city, and the old man says, “To where do you go? And where do you come from?”
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw a traveller in the street of the city; and the old man said to him, Whither go you, and whence come you?
18 And he says to him, “We are passing over from Beth-Lehem-Judah to the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim—I [am] from there, and I go to Beth-Lehem-Judah; and I am going to the house of YHWH, and there is no man gathering me into the house,
And he said to him, We are passing by from Bethleem Juda to the sides of mount Ephraim: I am from thence, and I went as far as Bethleem Juda, and I am going home, and there is no man to take me into his house.
19 and there is both straw and provender for our donkeys, and there is also bread and wine for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man with your servants; there is no lack of anything.”
Yet is there straw and food for our asses, and bread and wine for me and my handmaid and the young man with your servants; there is no lack of anything.
20 And the old man says, “Peace to you; only, all your lack [is] on me, but do not lodge in the broad place.”
And the old man said, Peace [be] to you; only be every lack of your upon me, only do you by no means lodge in the street.
21 And he brings him into his house, and mixes [food] for the donkeys, and they wash their feet, and eat and drink.
And he brought him into his house, and made room for his asses; and they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
22 They are making their heart glad, and behold, men of the city, men—sons of worthlessness—have gone around the house, beating on the door, and they speak to the old man, the master of the house, saying, “Bring out the man who has come into your house, and we know him.”
And they [were] comforting their heart, when, behold, the men of the city, sons of transgressors, compassed the house, knocking at the door: and they spoke to the old man the owner of the house, saying, Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.
23 And the man, the master of the house, goes out to them and says to them, “No, my brothers, please do not do evil after that this man has come into my house; do not do this folly;
And the master of the house came out to them, and said, Nay, brethren, do not you wrong, I pray you, after this man has come into my house; do not you this folly.
24 behold, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, please let me bring them out and you humble them, and do that which is good in your eyes to them, and do not do this foolish thing to this man.”
Behold my daughter a virgin, and the man's concubine: I will bring them out, and humble you them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes; but to this man do not this folly.
25 And the men have not been willing to listen to him, and the man takes hold on his concubine and brings [her] out to them outside, and they know her and roll themselves on her all the night until the morning, and they send her away in the ascending of the dawn;
But the men would not consent to listen to him; so the man laid hold of his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they knew her, and abused her all night till the morning, and let her go when the morning dawned.
26 and the woman comes in at the turning of the morning, and falls at the opening of the man’s house where her lord [is], until the light.
And the woman came towards morning, and fell down at the door of the house where her husband was, until it was light.
27 And her lord rises in the morning, and opens the doors of the house, and goes out to go on his way, and behold, the woman, his concubine, is fallen at the opening of the house, and her hands [are] on the threshold,
And her husband rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went forth to go on his journey; and, behold, the woman his concubine had fallen down by the doors of the house, and her hands were on the threshold.
28 and he says to her, “Rise, and we go”; but there is no answering, and he takes her on the donkey, and the man rises and goes to his place,
And he said to her, Rise, and let us go; and she answered not, for she was dead: and he took her upon his ass, and went to his place.
29 and comes into his house, and takes the knife, and lays hold on his concubine, and cuts her in pieces to her bones—into twelve pieces, and sends her into all the border of Israel.
And he took his sword, and laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve parts, and sent them to every coast of Israel.
30 And it has come to pass, everyone who sees has said, “There has not been—indeed, there has not been seen [anything] like this, from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt until this day; set your [heart] on it, take counsel, and speak.”
And it was so, that every one who saw it said, [Such a day] as this has not happened nor has been seen from the day of the going up of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt until this day: take you counsel concerning it, and speak.
